MOVIE NEWS – Tom Cruise’s next major project is neither another Mission: Impossible installment nor a new Top Gun sequel. In Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dark comedy Digger, the actor plays an elderly Southern oil baron so heavily transformed that he is almost impossible to recognize at first glance.

For once, one of Tom Cruise’s most anticipated upcoming movies is not another Ethan Hunt mission or a fresh Top Gun adventure. The four-time Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu is taking Cruise in an entirely different direction with Digger, and Warner Bros.’ new retrospective trailer finally offers a longer look at what the actor has been working on. Most of the video runs through Cruise’s biggest roles, from the jets of Top Gun to the increasingly insane stunts of the Mission: Impossible series, before the final thirty seconds shift to completely new footage from Digger.

In the film, Cruise becomes Digger Rockwell, an aging oil baron with a heavy Southern accent whose company appears to have triggered an ecological catastrophe. Rockwell must then try to clean up the destruction he helped create while attempting to prevent the world from being pushed toward nuclear war. The newly released footage shows Cruise under extensive makeup, with white hair, wrinkles, and a dramatically altered physical appearance as he seems to psych himself up before what may be a major speech. Cruise has never been afraid of strange choices, but Iñárritu’s new movie looks set to push him into territory that is even stranger than the actor’s usual brand of controlled chaos.

Tom Cruise’s New Role Looks Like Far More Than a Straight Comedy

The cast surrounding Cruise is also exactly the kind of strange but formidable ensemble such a project needs. Sandra Hüller, fresh from her fan-favorite turn in Project Hail Mary, is joined by John Goodman, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D’Arcy, Robert John Burke, and Burn Gorman. Goodman plays the President of the United States, while many of the other character details remain under wraps, which is probably deliberate: Iñárritu does not appear to be building a simple comedy that can be explained in one easy sentence.

Digger also takes Cruise back toward the more eccentric, character-driven side of his screen persona, last seen at its most memorable in Tropic Thunder, where he played the ruthless Hollywood producer Les Grossman. But Iñárritu’s movie already looks much larger and more ambitious than a straightforward gag machine. Its imagery is epic, Rockwell is grotesque, and the story carries environmental and political stakes that could make this one of Cruise’s strangest and potentially strongest performances of the next awards season. The film is scheduled to arrive in U.S. theaters, including IMAX, on October 2.

Edge of Tomorrow 2 Remains a Rumor for Now

Cruise’s departure from action blockbusters may not last very long. Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Cruise, Emily Blunt, and director Doug Liman could reunite for the long-discussed Edge of Tomorrow sequel, with filming potentially starting before the end of the year. None of that has been officially confirmed, however, and conflicting reports have emerged about whether the project is actually moving forward at all.

Meanwhile, Top Gun 3 continues to develop in the background, even though the project is reportedly still looking for a director. Before Cruise returns to fighter jets or time loops, though, Digger may be the movie that reminds audiences he is not merely one of Hollywood’s most committed stunt performers. He is still capable of making a completely unexpected choice when nobody sees it coming.

Source: MovieWeb | Warner Bros.